Articles About Searching for Records

Later this month, we’ll be releasing the first Ancestry app update focused on searching our huge archive of content in a mobile specific interface. To date, the iOS App has provided access to your family trees and hints on the go, but searching through our collections hasn’t been readily available. With this release of Search,… Read more

We all make mistakes! The key to success in family history research, as in life, is to learn from them. In an effort to guide you through your genealogical journey, we have created this list containing the top five mistakes to avoid when researching your family tree. 1. Assuming a family name is only spelled… Read more

The Dreaded Brick Wall How can I get past a brick wall? When you run across a brick wall in your research, what do you do? You may be tempted to send your laptop on an expedition out of the first floor window, and who could blame you? A brick wall can be incredibly frustrating.… Read more

As I write this, I’m getting ready for a trip to Utah. As a fairly frequent traveler, I know that to make the trip less stressful, I need lists. Lists are what keep me from wandering around the house searching for nothing in particular, grasping randomly for things I might need, and missing items I… Read more

If you find you are getting too many results when you do a search, its time to try out name filters when you do a search. We have over 13 Billion records and making sure you narrow your search results down to a reasonable amount, is probably a good idea. First you will need to… Read more

Being a history lover, I subscribe to a whole lot of paper and online newsletters and magazines. A few weeks back, an item in the Wisconsin Historical Society weekly email caught my eye – reservations were being taken for old-fashioned horse-drawn sleigh rides. How fun would it be to feel, hear, and see what our… Read more

Once you have built your family tree a bit and have gotten into the “greats”, past your grandparents and farther back into other centuries, research methodologies and best practices start to evolve depending on your specific ethnicity. Research for each ethnicity is different and requires its own tailored approach for maximum success. Research Guides The… Read more

New records released ranged from New England to the Nevada desert. By 1882 child labor advocates were gaining ground, and in Connecticut, working children between 8 and 14 had to attend at least 12 weeks of school. In 1895, children under 14 were prohibited from working at “gainful employment” at all. In 1903, the… Read more

Stage and screen star Christina Applegate’s father, Robert, has lived with a troubling mystery his entire life — just who was his mother? Raised by his paternal grandparents, Robert has only fleeting memories of his mother. Christina sets out to find her story. She starts with one valuable piece of information: Robert’s birth certificate. She learns… Read more

Did you know that not all records on Ancestry.com are indexed? Even when there is an index available, sometimes it is useful to view an entire set of passenger lists or a whole neighborhood in the census to find the information you need. In this video, we share how to use the “browse” features for… Read more

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About the Ancestry blog

Here you will find informational, and sometimes fun, posts from the folks behind the scenes here at Ancestry. We hope you’ll notice just how passionate we are about family history and about the products we’re building to help connect families over distance and time.